Year : 2019/20 26408 - Structural Geology Syllabus Information Academic Year: 2019/20 Subject: 26408 - Structural Geology Faculty / School: 100 - Degree: 296 - Degree in Geology 588 - Degree in Geology ECTS: 9.0 Year: 588 - Degree in Geology: 2 296 - Degree in Geology: 2 Semester: First semester Subject Type: Compulsory Module: --- 1.General information 1.1.Aims of the course The expected results of the course respond to the following general aims The general goals of the subject are brought up at three levels: (a) Learning of conceptual and methodological aspects through theoretical and practical classes (deductive learning) (b) Practical use of techniques for analytical treatment and plotting of structural data. (c) Development of research capabilities using empiric methodologies, from field-data collection to final interpretation. General goals The student should: 1) know the different types of tectonic structures: definitions, classifications; as well as geometric, kinematic, and dynamic characteristics at different scales. 2) develop observation abilities and collect field data. 3) learn the main techniques to represent and analyze tectonic structures. 4) know how to apply the concepts and models of Structural Geology to regional scale interpretations. 5) be able to work alone and in a group. 6) learn to be critical with scientific information, and be able to express clearly his/her scientific results. 1.2.Context and importance of this course in the degree Structural Geology is a fundamental tool to decipher the geology of deformed areas and thus it should be considered an indispensable knowledge for any geologist. On the other hand, Structural Geology deals with geometrical aspects of deformation and thus it is closely related with disciplines like Geological Mapping, Geophysics and Tectonics. 1.3.Recommendations to take this course This branch of the Geology requires the development of a 3-D visualization of the tectonic structures, as well as observation and interpretation abilities both in the lab and in the field. This course in Structural Geology values the comprehension and the reasoning capabilities as much as the rote learning. 2.Learning goals 2.1.Competences After completing the course, the student will be competent in the following skills: - Recognize, describe and classify the main tectonic structures. - Interpret the genetic mechanism of the tectonic structures. - Apply the most appropriate geometric, kinematic or dynamic method to study a specific tectonic structure or group of structures. - Identify in the field deformational structures and their geometric elements. - Collect structural data in the field. Be able to recognize outcrop and regional scale structures and to draw schemes and geologic cross-sections. Measure linear and planar elements in the field. - Identify deformational structures at hand and thin-section scale. - Have a good command of the main structural techniques related with the representation and analysis of geometric data: stereographic projection, orthographic projection, cross sections, block diagrams, contour maps. - Reconstruct the genetic mechanisms of real structures, as well as their kinematic and dynamic evolution, and in the case of poliphasic deformations, their chronological sequence. 2.2.Learning goals The student, in order to pass the course, will have to show her/his competence in the following skills: - Identify the main type of tectonic structures as well as to know their geometric characteristics and genetic mechanisms. - Construct geologic maps as well as schemes showing the geometry and relationship of the structures in the field. - Measure the attitude of planes and lines using the geologic compass. - Represent and read structural elements (planes and lines) by means of orthographic projection, stereographic projection and geological cross sections. - Find and read scientific articles as well as select and understand the most relevant information. - Work alone and in a group, as well as to defend scientific. 2.3.Importance of learning goals Geologic structures provide part of the basis for recognizing and reconstructing the profound changes that have marked the physical evolution of the Earth's outer layers, as observed from the scale of the plates down to the scale of the microscopic. Understanding the nature and extensiveness of deformational structures in the Earth's crust has both scientific value and practical benefit. But, there is a philosophical value as well. Our perceptions of who we are and where we are in time and space are shaped by facts and interpretations regarding the historical development of the crust of the planet on which we live. Knowing fully the extent to which our planet is dynamic, not static, is a reminder of the lively and special environment we inhabit ....... Once the conceptual framework within which structural geologists operate is grasped, the Earth begins to look different. In fact, natural physical processes and natural physical phenomena, whether geologic or not, never quite look the same again (from Davis and Reynolds, 1996). 3.Assessment (1st and 2nd call) 3.1.Assessment tasks (description of tasks, marking system and assessment criteria) The student will prove that he/she has achieved the expected learning results by means of the following assessment tasks: (a) Continuous assessment (assessment of students that attend class regularly) To track the improvement and knowledge of the students, the assessment will be carried out during the learning process, according the following evaluation activities: a.1) Laboratory-Practice exercises. Several practical exercises carried out in the lab will be corrected and evaluated (evaluation of skills 1, 2, 4, 6, an 7). a.2) Field work. The attendance to the field trips is compulsory. The personal work, expressed in the student's note-book, the attitude of the student in the field, and a specific work on one of the field trips will be evaluated (evaluation of skills 1, 2, 3, 4, 6 and 7). a.3) Development and oral presentation of a subject. The students, by pairs, will choose one of the proposed subjects. They will write up a small work (minimum 4 pages) with the contents and the figures necessary to facilitate the understanding of the subject by the rest of the students, and the bibliography correctly referenced. It will be given in electronic version (formats .doc or .pdf), will have a presentation in power point or similar (maximum 15 minutes) and defending it before in formt of the rest of students and the professor in a seminary session (evaluation of skills 5, 6 and 7). a.4) Partial written tests. During the course two written tests will be realised (2.30 h each one) that will consist of two parts: (a) brief questions theoretical-practices, related to the basic aspects of a part of the course program, including a test and/or a set of shortquestions, and some questions that, in most cases, may be answered by means of drawings, and (b) a practical exercice that will beclosely related with the practical sessions of the course. Evaluation of skills 1, 4, and 5. The student who has not surpassed the subject during the continuous evaluation (general case) will have, at least, to be examined in the period of final evaluation to the non-surpassed parts of the partial written tests (activity of evaluation a.4) and, where appropriate, to realise/to give the documents that talk about to the activities a.1, a.2 and a.3. (b) Global assessment (assessment of students that do not attend class regularly) Those students that have not attended the course regularly, as well as those who wish to, may take a global exam (duration of 5-6 hours) that will consist of: b.1) a written test, similar to the indicated one in the previous section (a.4) but on the assembly of the subject, and b.2) on additional test, in which the student will have to solve several practical exercises, similar to the realised ones in the actual development of the subject. In this case, the students will have to indicate this selection to the professor with a minimum advance of one week before the development of the test in the final period of evaluation of the subject. Assesment criteria (a) Continuous Assessment As a general rule, to pass the course it will be necessary to: 1.- Participate in the laboratory and seminar activities and attend the field trips. 2.- Obtain a grade higher than 5 in the theoretical-practical exam of the partial written tests. 3.- Obtain a grade higher than 5 in the practical exam of the partial written tests. 4.- To give, to present and to defend the developed subject and to give the asked practical exercises. Evaluation of skills: - Activity a.1 (lab work): 20 % - Activity a.2 (field work): 5 % - Activity a.3 (subject development and defense): 15 % - Activity a.4 (partial written tests): 60 % (b) Global assessment - Activity b.1 (written test): 50 % - Activity b.2 (additional test): 50 % Considering the high number of tests and activities that are evaluation object, the numerical qualification obtained by the students which they have surpassed the subject could be corrected to the rise. This correction will not be arbitrary and will suppose a linear increase of the obtained note. 4.Methodology, learning tasks, syllabus and resources 4.1.Methodological overview The methodology followed in this course is oriented towards the achievement of the learning objectives. A wide range of teaching and learning tasks are implemented, such as lectures, laboratory sessions, fieldwork and tutorials. 4.2.Learning tasks This 9 ECTS course is organized as follows: Theory - practice sessions (3 ECTS: 30 hours). Three weekly hours. The syllabus is just the framework that should guide the active learning of the students. The students will have class-notes given by the professor as the basis for their learning, but they must extend the information given in class using by means of technical books and scientific journals.